The Fulfillment of What Was Spoken by the Lord

Luke 1:39-56 Four thousand years ago, God graciously chose a man named Abraham through whom he would bless the world.  God promised Abraham that he would become a great nation—that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars—and that through one special Child from his family all the world would be blessed.

God made these promises when Abraham and his wife Sarah had no children—and still they didn’t.  Periodically God would renew his covenant with them—but still no child-- until they became very old people. 

It was at this point in their lives—when there could be no doubt but that it was a God of might who acted in their lives—that Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac, whose son Jacob had twelve sons who would become the twelve tribes of Israel—and they became a great nation just as God had promised.

Over the centuries God maintained his covenant with Abraham and renewed his promise to bless the world through his one special Offspring. 

Periodically God would send prophets who would tell more about him:  the place of his birth—that his mother would be a virgin—that he would suffer and die for the sins of the world and rise again.  Hundreds of prophecies made over hundreds of years—each of them a brushstroke in the portrait of Abraham’s Offspring.

Two thousand years ago in the hill country surrounding Jerusalem there lived another elderly couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth.  They were pious, devout believers and they too were childless.  But God graciously sent the angel Gabriel to tell them that he would do what was humanly impossible—that in their old age they would have a son in who would bring joy to many for he was promised messenger of the Messiah who would prepare his way into the hearts of his people.

At that same time, in a town called Nazareth, there lived a young woman named Mary who was engaged to be married.  Before that marriage was consummated, the same angel appeared to her with a startling announcement—that she too had been graciously chosen by God to bear his Son.  Luke writes:

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.

            By God’s grace, at Zechariah’s house, an elderly pregnant woman met a pregnant virgin.  But as amazing and wonderful as are God’s mighty and miraculous works in giving babies to these two women and Sarah before them—what God did spiritually in their lives and in the lives of their children—was even greater.

When the words of Mary reached Elizabeth’s ear, little John leaped for joy in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and made one of the first confessions of faith in Jesus.  She confessed that Mary was the mother of her Lord:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Thirty years later Jesus would breathe on his disciples and give them the Holy Spirit.  But already on that day—in Jesus’ presence within the womb of his mother-- the Holy Spirit was given through Mary’s greeting and Elizabeth confessed with her words and John confessed with his deeds --their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

As miraculous as those two babies were—as mighty a work of God as they were--the spiritual miracle accomplished that day of God working faith in human hearts, causing them to believe in Jesus—was just as great.  And so it is in our life too.

Through simple water and the promise of God, our heavenly Father rescues us from sin, death, and the power of the devil in Holy Baptism and adopts us as his children and gives us the Holy Spirit. 

Through the promise of Jesus to be with us always, our Lord gives us his body and blood in Holy Communion --feeding us with his own life to sustain our life in him. 

Through the preaching of his Word and the Good News of forgiveness, God awakens faith in our heart and fills us with his Spirit.

These mighty works of God are accomplished in those whom the Bible says are spiritually blind by nature—deaf to the voice of God—and dead in sins and trespasses! 

It is his gracious, mighty work alone that we are able to:  join our voices with Elizabeth-- and be filled with the fruit of the Spirit like John--and confess that the One born of the Virgin Mary is our Savior and Lord. 

Because of this Spirit-worked faith, we can add our praises to that of Mary as she thanks God for the mighty things he has done for her.  She said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.  For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 

It is a helpful reminder for all of those within Christendom who would lift up Mary almost to the place of Christ—that Mary herself magnifies the Lord- and rejoices that he is her Savior from sin- and counts herself his humble servant. 

But it is also precisely because of her great faith that Mary serves as an example for all Christians to follow for she shows us what faith in Jesus looks like.

First of all, Mary knew and rejoiced in the Good News that God is her Savior.  There is nothing in her confession of faith that indicates in the least way that she has done anything worthy of the great things the Lord has done for her.  It is all by his gracious gift of a Son that she is saved-- and she exalts God’s holy name for his mercy. 

That we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is not a Lutheran peculiarity or reformation innovation from the ancient catholic faith.  It’s not an idea you find only in the Pauline epistles.  It is the story of our salvation that goes back all the way to the beginning—God reaching out to those who do not deserve his notice—to do for them what they cannot do for themselves:  save them from sin and death.

All generations call the Mother of our Lord:  the Blessed Virgin Mary-- and rightfully so-- for out of all the women who have ever lived she was the one graciously chosen by God to be the mother of the Savior of the world. 

But that judgment of “blessedness” is also spoken over us too because we believe in Jesus Christ.  And it will be spoken about us forever in the courts of heaven.  The Bible says about those in heaven:  blessed are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 

Secondly, Mary reminds us that the Lord is both mighty and merciful.  She says:

His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

The powers of sin, death, and the devil are no match for Jesus much less the earthly forces of those who stand opposed to his people.  He is the God who orders and upholds the universe.  He is the God who kills and makes alive.  He is the God who rules all things.  He is strong and mighty and powerful to save!

But we are also reminded that he is merciful.  He exalts those of humble estate; fills the hungry with good things, and the rich he sends away empty.  When we are struck to the heart in the knowledge of our sins—the Lord lifts us up and forgives us and calls us his children.  When we hunger for the good things that are ours as God’s children Jesus promises to fill our deepest needs—giving us peace and hope and joy.  When we are confronted by enemies more powerful than ourselves, the Lord comes to our rescue, promising to deliver us from evil.

We can be confident that he will keep these promises he makes to us because he is the God of kept promises.  Mary concludes her song in the way that we began our meditation—by calling to mind the Lord’s faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham to save the world through his offspring.  She says that the Lord:

…has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 

Two thousand years separated Abraham and Mary—two thousand years separate Mary from us—but from generation to generation the Lord keeps his promises and shows his mighty and mercy-- and we can count on that very thing in our lives too.

From the day that Adam and Eve sinned and brought death into the world, the story of our salvation is the story of the Mighty One who has done great things for us, acting in human history in powerful ways, to reconcile us to himself through his Son Jesus Christ.  

That Good News cannot help but bring forth from our lips a song of praise just like it did for Mary:  the mighty one has done great things for me and holy is his name!  Amen.

The Gentle Shepherd

The Gentle Shepherd

Isaiah 40:1-11 After years of disobedience and generations of faithlessness, God had enough.  He would exercise judgment on his people at the hands of their enemies.  Homes would be lost.  The temple would be destroyed.  And the Israelites would go into exile. 

Again and again we must learn from their experience that the Lord is a God of holiness who will not abide with sin in the life of his people.  We must never forget that the Lord is a God of power and righteousness who exercises judgment in time and eternity.

But we are also reminded tonight that he is God of mercy who loves his people with an everlasting love and provides a way for us to return to him when all seems lost.  Isaiah prophesied:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 

            As dark as those days were for Israel (with the people of God at the mercy of their enemies on account of their sins) there was still hope because they had in the Lord a God who forgives an undeserving people.

The northern kingdom would fall to the Assyrians and the southern kingdom would fall to the Babylonians.  The tribes in the north would be lost to history and the southern tribes would go into exile.  But there was a loving God who was still in charge of the lives of his people.

No matter how great and powerful were their enemies, God was greater.  He would set a limit on what they had to endure and would deliver them from exile and bring them home.in the end.  This promise comforted them in the difficult days to come.

So it is for us.  We have a heavenly Father who still disciplines his children in love.  We live in this world as exiles.  We face real enemies who want to harm us in time and eternity.  And yet the hardships and difficulties of life that God allows are not without end.  There is comfort for us too.

God has sent his Son to conquer our enemies of sin and death and the devil.  Jesus has pardoned our iniquities by his shed blood on the cross.  Rather than giving us what our sins deserves, God has made a place for us in his family and given us a share in eternal life.

What a comfort to know that God’s mercy and love are accomplished facts of history in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

But there is spiritual work that must be done in us if we are to receive those blessings in faith.  Isaiah prophesied of that work:

A voice cries:  “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 

            When the Israelites were carried into exile in Babylon, they labored up every mountain and they scraped their way down every valley road and they trudged over every desert mile.  Each footstep was a testimony to how far they had fallen—the desert a great barrier that kept them from home. 

But Isaiah promised them that it wouldn’t last forever—that God himself would come for them—that these barriers and impediments, as great and lasting as the foundations of the earth, would be removed so that they could make their way home.

These are the words that the Holy Spirit inspired St. Mark to use to describe the work of John the Baptist as he prepared the world to receive their Savior.  Mountain tops of pride would have to be made low and valleys of despair would have to be raised up so that we can be made ready to receive our deliverer who will bring us home.  Isaiah promised that:

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 

            In 539 B.C. God raised up Cyrus the Persian who, in one of the greatest battles in the ancient history, defeated the Babylonian Empire and made the way for the Israelites to go home.  He is the only non-Jew that the Bible ever calls a Messiah—an anointed deliverer of God’s people.  God had promised that he would set his people free and by the hand of Cyrus, his chosen servant, God did exactly that.

But the true fulfillment of these words was found in another deliverer.  You see, the story of the sinfulness of the Jews and their exile in slavery and their deliverance and journey home is not just ancient history but it is a universal story that explains our human condition:  our sin and our exile from God and a deliverer that God has raised up to bring us home.

That anointed servant is Jesus Christ.  God promised that he would raise up a Savior who would defeat our enemies and bring us to our heavenly home and he kept that promise in the birth of his Son.  Jesus is the glory of God in human flesh, the world’s Redeemer who came to do for us what we cannot do because of our frailty and weakness.  Isaiah said:

A voice says, “Cry!”  And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.  The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.  The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 

            From slavery in Egypt to destruction by Assyria to exile in Babylon the Israelites knew the truth of these words:  that people are like grass.  We live for a brief time and then pass away as if we had never existed at all.

But the Israelites also knew the truth of these words:  that the word of our God will stand forever. 

Throughout salvation history, the one constant in the life of God’s people is the existence of our God from generation to generation and his faithfulness in speaking to his people and calling us back to himself. 

God is faithful and his word can be trusted.  When he speaks words of judgment—it comes to pass.  When he speak words of deliverance—they too come to pass. 

Compared to ten thousand years of human history our lives of 70 or 80 or even 90 years are incredibly brief to say nothing of comparing our lives to eternity.  Because of the brevity of life, there is only one way to gain a perspective on what truly matters—on what will truly stand the test of time and eternity-- and that is by reading and hearing and studying the Word of God.

Just think of the empires that have come and gone since the words of Genesis were written!  Just think of all the scientific theories that have been hailed as great advancements only to be disproved by the generations that followed!  Just think of all the technology that was considered cutting edge but is now rubbish!

What has endured the test of time and comforted God’s people in every generation is God’s Word.  That is why we must not stand in judgment over God’s Word or discard some part of God’s Word or adapt some part of God’s Word to an ever changing world. 

Instead, God’s Word—both the law that convicts our sin and the Gospel that comforts our troubled consciences--must be believed by us and shared with the world.  Isaiah prophesied:

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

            The message of God through the prophet Isaiah—a message of conviction and comfort—what not intended by God for just a few people.  Rather, he wanted his word shared so that all people could take comfort in his promise to deliver them and bring them home.

It was not just Isaiah who was to take this message of comfort to the people—but all who heard it and believed it were charged by God to share it.

So it still is today.  Pastors have a special responsibility to speak forth God’s word and to do that faithfully—warning their flocks when they are in spiritual danger- and comforting them when they are in need- and instructing them in the ways of the Lord.

But once God’s people have heard the word—once they have learned what God requires of them and the forgiveness he gives them when they fail--then each and every member of God’s church has that same responsibility to lift up our voices and bear witness to Jesus.

Each and every one of us are heralds of Good News, chosen and loved by God and given the task to point those in our workplace and schools and neighborhoods to Jesus Christ and say:  behold, your God so that they too might take their place in the flock of the Good Shepherd.  Isaiah prophesied:

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.  He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

The Israelites were exiled in Babylon for seventy years.  Those were difficult days.  Daniel faced the lion’s den.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced a fiery furnace.  But during God’s people were comforted by his promise to care for them and lead them home—and he did. 

But his love and goodness was not just for a select few, but for all people in every place and time.  God’s deliverance and the return of his people was a sign pointing to what he himself would accomplish in his Son Jesus Christ. 

With the birth of Jesus, our Immanuel, the God who is with us—God himself entered into our world bringing gifts of hope and peace and forgiveness not just for a few-- but for all people.  He is the Good Shepherd who gathers us into his flock where he cares for us.

And he will come again to bring us out of exile and lead us to our heavenly home.  May God grant it to us all for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

Is Jesus the One?

Is Jesus the One?

Matthew 11:2-11 John the Baptist was the one who baptized Jesus.  He proclaimed Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  He saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus and heard the Father’s voice proclaiming him his Son. 

Because of this, many early church fathers and modern bible teachers reject the idea that John was now having doubts.  They say that John is preparing his own disciples to follow Jesus upon his death in prison and so he wanted them to hear with their own ears what Jesus had to say about himself.  But what we see here is an odd way to do that.

What I think is really behind their unwillingness to admit that John is having a crisis of faith is a kind of “hero-worship” and Jesus himself says that among those born to women none are greater than John.  But in saying that Jesus also I making the point that John IS among those born to women. 

In other words, he is a fallen, sinful human being just like the rest of us and he is susceptible to the same struggle and doubts that we all have and how much more would that be true for John who knew what happened to prophets who publicly criticized kings. 

And so this story, like the story of all the great heroes of the faith is written for our instruction so that we would learn what to do with our faith struggle and doubts and that is to take them to Jesus.

When I gave my sermon title to Bobbie, “Is Jesus the One?” she immediately said:  “yes!” and that is exactly where the Holy Spirit wants to bring each one of us today.  The Bible says that: 

“when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Jesus, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

            Are you the one?  I don’t know if a more important question has ever been asked-- or can be asked--and we too need to know the answer to it and be certain about it.  Is Jesus the One?  Is he the One that we can stake our entire life on?  Or is there another?  Is he the one in whom all the promises of God are fulfilled or not? 

To ask this question and to seek an answer is not sinful doubt–at least not the way John asked it and the approach he took.

            What did John do with his questions?  He turned to Jesus.  He turned to Jesus as the one who could answer his question-he turned to Jesus for assurance that his faith was not misplaced.  What John did, and the questions he had, was a deep expression of faith that is completely consistent with other great statements of faith in the Bible.  After all, “Lord I believe–help my unbelief” is the prayer of a believer not an unbeliever.

            All of us have faith questions at times–all of us struggle to understand portions of Holy Scripture–all of us want to grow in our faith and in our confidence in God.  John the Baptist shows us the way to do that.  Take it to the Lord in prayer.  Search his Word.  That is exactly what Jesus would have us do.  He said:

 “Go and tell John what you hear and see:  the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them”.

            In effect Jesus says, search the Scriptures–see what they say of the Messiah–and then see what I do and you will know the truth–that I am the one.  Yes there are still things to come–but trust the one who has already fulfilled so much-- to accomplish the rest.  Jesus gives the same answer today to those who struggle with doubts and questions. 

God is not afraid of our questions–he is not ashamed of our struggles.  He wants us to have the assurance of a deep and abiding faith and so he invites us to turn to his son Jesus–to search the Scriptures—to pray to him—and to receive the sacraments for assurance-- so that our faith in Christ does not waver.

            We need that Spirit-given certainty BECAUSE when it comes to the person and work of Jesus (as it is revealed in Holy Scripture and proclaimed by the Church) doubt is not a virtue.  Doubt is not the sign of a discerning spirit or intellectual superiority.  Doubt and skepticism, when it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ, are tools of Satan that are used to trip us up in our walk of faith and the spiritual consequences are severe.

            Twisting Scriptures to his own advantage–asking us, as he did Adam and Eve:  “did God really say”--causing us to doubt--Satan desires to steal our salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life.  That’s what’s at stake when it comes to doubt and it’s deadly serious.

            Jesus told John’s disciples: “Blessed is the one who is not offended because of me”.  In the original Greek, that word translated as “offended” means to “trip up” and the word itself is the technical term for a kind of trap used to kill small animals. 

            Life and death are what’s at stake when it comes to knowing and believing what Jesus says about himself–that he is the one--none other than the True God in human flesh–the Messiah sent to save us from our sins by his own death and resurrection.  It is eternal life to know that and believe that for ourselves. 

That is the message that the disciples were to relay to John as he faced his own death-- and that is what Jesus would have us know and believe today.  And for the people who surrounded him that day listening in, and for us here today, Jesus makes the question personal.  The Bible says that:

“As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John:  ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  What then did you go out to see?  A man dressed in soft clothing?  Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king’s houses”. 

Jesus says in effect, “What about you?  Where is your faith in all this?  What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  Something for entertainment value?  What did you go out to hear?  Were you drawn to John because he told you what your itching ears wanted to hear or because he spoke the truth about the One to come? 

            That’s still a good question for us to ask ourselves regarding our worship services and our pastors. 

Do you listen to what the pastor has to say because he tells you what you want to hear- or do you listen because he brings you God’s Word even when you don’t like to hear it?  Is he a reed swayed back and forth by every wind of doctrine-- or does he stand fast on those eternal truths handed down by the prophets and apostles of old?  Do you come to worship to be entertained and visit with friends or to grow in your faith and knowledge of Jesus? 

            The answer for the people that day was that they went out to John precisely because he brought God’s Word–not like their religious leaders who taught the doctrines of men–but because John would not be swayed by the opinions of men.  They went to John because he unswervingly held to the central message of the Kingdom of God–to repent of sins and believe in Jesus.  That message is life and salvation and the people received it in faith. 

            And so what was John’s reward for his faithful service?  Fine clothes?  A room in the king’s house?  No!  He was cast into the king’s prison in the rough camel hair garments of his Jordan days–known as a true prophet of God not only for his faithful proclamation-- but also for the opposition he received and the suffering he endured from sinful men-- like so many faithful men of God.  And among them all-past, present and future–John the Baptist was the greatest.  Jesus said:

“What then did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’”. 

            This was why it is so necessary to recognize who John was and why he was so important–he was the messenger sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah. 

To know John the Baptist and to believe his message is to know and believe in Jesus the Messiah of God.  That is how important John the Baptist was—because he pointed to Jesus as the Savior of the world.

            As remarkable and as wonderful as all this is, Jesus saves the best for last-- for he tells us that those who are the least in the kingdom of heaven are greater than even John the Baptist–the greatest man who ever lived.  Jesus says:

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.  Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” 

How is that possible that you and me–regular folks with regular lives-- least in the Kingdom of Heaven as it were--are even greater than John the Baptist?

            It’s because we have been blessed to see the whole salvation story that God tells in the death, resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.  John would not live to see it–he was executed a short time after these events. 

He never got to see Christ’s death on the cross that atoned for the sins of the world.  He never got to witness the glorious resurrection that changed the course of the world from death to life.  But we have heard it and seen it through the Word and Sacraments and by these gifts of God’s grace we know that Jesus is indeed the One.  Amen.

The Sun of Righteousness

The Sun of Righteousness

Malachi 4:1-6 Malachi prophesied in those years after the return of the Israelites from Babylon.  God keep his promise to bring them home.  He was faithful.  But in very short order their faithfulness to the Lord who delivered them began to falter.

They became more interested in their own homes and businesses than rebuilding the house of the Lord.  They didn’t bring their best offerings to the Lord and simply went through the motions in worship.  They couldn’t understand why God wasn’t blessing them—why the evil seemed to be doing just as well as they were doing.  And the Lord spoke through his messenger:

"Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble.

            God had not forgotten about justice—he had not abandoned his expectations for how people should live their lives—evil would not win out in the end-- for the day of fiery judgment was coming. 

Very few things are as clearly taught in the Bible as eternal punishment by fire.  Human beings are terrified of being burned in a fire—the pain is unbelievable.   To think of eternal torment in the fires of hell is horrible.  It’s meant to be.

Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels and not for men.  There is absolutely no reason for any person to go to hell.  But that punishment will most certainly await the arrogant and the evildoers.  Malachi says they are ripe for judgment like stubble that quickly catches on fire. 

It is important to note that besides evildoers, the arrogant will also go into the fires of hell.  We would expect the evil to be cast into the fire.  All of us can picture Hitler and Stalin receiving the just punishment of their evil deeds.  But the arrogant?

That hits a little close to home.  The Lord had a warning for the people of Malachi’s day who thought that their homes were more important than the Lord’s house—who thought that the Lord ought to be satisfied with their worship when their hearts weren’t in it—who questioned the ways of the Lord—the message was:  you too will go into the fires of hell with all of those who do evil.  Malachi said:

The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

            It is important to note whose words of judgment these are.  Malachi is the one who is speaking them—but they are the Word of the Lord—the Lord of hosts.  This title means the Lord of heavenly armies—the Lord who cannot be conquered—the Lord of power and might who will utterly destroy his enemies. 

We will listen to this warning or not-- but there should be no confusion on anyone’s part who it is that is speaking these words to us tonight.

The judgment and punishment for the evil and arrogant will mean the destruction of everything they hoped for—destruction so complete and final that they cannot rise again.  Evil was not a part of God’s good creation in the beginning-- and it will not be part of his new creation at the end. 

The evil and the arrogant and all of those who stand against God’s ways will be separated from the Lord and his people by a fiery chasm that no one can ever cross for all eternity—a place of torment and weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Because of the certainty of that day, because of the eternal consequences of that day, there is one thing that we need to know and that is:  how to avoid the punishment to come.  The LORD said:

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

            When we recite the Ten Commandments we begin with:  You shall have no other gods before me.  But these are not the first words that Moses heard on Horeb.  God gave the law to Moses beginning this way:  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  I am the LORD. 

Before Moses went to Egypt, he asked God his name and God answered:  I AM.  The God who was and is and always will be.  Yahweh.  Jehovah.  The LORD.  God’s name is not just some title—it is who he is in his very essence.

I take time to explain this because it is only those who fear the Lord’s name who will greet the day of judgment with gladness—it is only those who know God as their Savior who will experience healing rather than punishment on that day—it is only those who fear him who will know that day as glorious light rather than deepest darkness.

It was the great I AM who delivered the Israelites and set them free from Egypt and it was the great I AM in the person of Jesus of Nazareth who delivered the world and set us free by his death and resurrection. 

During his earthly ministry Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone knew who he was.  He said:  I AM the bread of life.  I AM the light of the world.  I AM the living water.  Before Abraham was—I AM.

Those who believe in him and trust him and receive him in faith as their Savior and stand in awe of the holy name of Jesus:  The LORD saves—have nothing to fear on the day of judgment.  There will be healing and restoration and new life for us on that day—a day of eternal vitality and gladness where death will be destroyed and all that is broken, healed. 

Malachi says that on that day when the evil and arrogant are cast into eternal fire, we who fear the name of the Lord will be like calves let loose from the stall—no longer constrained by the hardships of this life that pen us in—no longer confined by the darkness of this dying world--but free to live in the brilliant sun of an everlasting day.

That day will not only be vindication for the Lord but victory for us.  Malachi said that all who fear the name of the Lord:

shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

            Throughout the world today there are people in positions of power and influence who misuse and abuse God’s people.  Christians are imprisoned and killed for their faith—pastors’ lives are made miserable for speaking the truth—decent, hardworking folks are defrauded and robbed.  None of this escapes the eyes of the Lord.

And while the child of God is called upon to follow in way of the cross in this world, not avenging ourselves of the wrong done to us—there is a day of vengeance to come when we will see all of those who have used wealth and power and influence to misuse and mistreat us-- not only kneel before the Lord as he pronounces eternal fiery punishment—but we will see them as ashes under our own feet.

These words of warning must lead us to ask ourselves:  Do I truly fear the name of the LORD or am I deceiving myself and others?  Will I stand victorious on that day or will I be ashes under the feet of the righteous?  The only way to know the truth about whether or not our faith is real is to ask ourselves how we are living our life.  Is our faith shown in what we say and do and how we treat others?  The LORD said:

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

As we have already mentioned, when God gave the Ten Commandments at Mt. Horeb he began by reminding his people of his redeeming work—that it was because he had saved them that he was calling them to live a holy life, guided and informed and shaped by the statutes and rules he was giving them.

These words that call us to remember the Ten Commandments were words that the people of Malachi’s day needed to hear-- and we do too.  We can fake fear of the Lord by sitting in pews and putting money in the plate—Malachi’s people did it-- and people still do today.  We can deceive others and ourselves-- but we cannot deceive God. 

God sees and knows the truth.  Do we truly love him by worshiping him and honoring his name and putting him first-- or is our faith just pious sounding words?  Do we love our neighbor by caring for their physical needs and making sure they have the necessities of life and speaking well of them to others-- or is our love empty words?  

We have been delivered and set free from sin by Jesus Christ and are called to holiness of life—our thoughts, words, and deeds guided by the Ten Commandments so that our life with God is marked by an active, living faith-- rather than by empty words which will not stand on the fiery day of his return.  The LORD said:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.  He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

Before God sent the flood that destroyed the world—he raised up Noah to warn the world of judgment and deliverance.  Before God destroyed Nineveh he sent Jonah to warn them of God’s judgment and call them to repentance.  And before God destroys the world on the last day he has sent John the Baptist to call people to repentance and faith—warning that the ax of God’s judgment was already laid at the root of the tree.

The message of God through these men was exactly the same:  repent and look in faith to the LORD for deliverance and salvation.  It is the same message you are hearing tonight. 

Each of us has an opportunity right now—a moment full of God’s grace—in which to listen to the voice of God through his chosen spokesmen, repent of our sins, and trust in the one they all pointed to as the Sun of Righteousness:  Jesus Christ.  Amen.